Volume 2, Chapter 43 – The Girl

The girl was born with a golden key in her mouth.

Her father and mother were a couple admired by all, a model of respect and harmony, and they showered her with endless affection from the moment she was born.

In the eyes of the world, the girl was a noble young lady of the highest standing. From birth, she was surrounded by countless dazzling auras of prestige. Her family was powerful, and as the only princess of the clan, everyone in it would do everything possible to fulfill her every wish, even if what she wanted was the stars in the sky.

From childhood to adulthood, she grew up enveloped in her family’s love, yet at the same time, she bore responsibilities that others her age should never have had to bear. Though her family indulged her every desire, their expectations for her education were mercilessly strict.

Etiquette, refinement, knowledge.

As the sole heir to one of the most powerful families in the Alliance’s pyramid, the girl carried the future of the entire clan upon her shoulders.

While others her age were still in elementary school, playing and laughing, she was already learning the etiquette expected of nobility. When others entered middle and high school and began to experience the sweetness of first love, she was instead silently learning the rules of the aristocracy, being taught that there was no such thing as true love in this world, only eternal interests.

Interests last forever, but feelings are illusions.

For the sake of the family, sometimes even sacrificing oneself was necessary.

The continuation of the family’s legacy was the mission that had been placed upon her from the moment she was born.

Everything she did was for the family’s future.

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So while the world admired her noble identity as the young lady of a top-tier family, no one knew that she actually envied the lives of ordinary people deeply.

She wished she could have been like them, born to ordinary parents, attending an ordinary school, perhaps getting scolded by teachers for poor grades, perhaps secretly liking a boy during class.

But she knew all of that was just a fantasy. Reality was cruel, and the responsibilities on her shoulders, as well as the values ingrained in her since childhood, told her that such things were meaningless.

When she was twelve years old, she came to know about virtual games through the internet.

After secretly watching several videos of people playing, she brought up her wish to play one herself the very next day.

Games corrupt the will.

That was what her family believed. To them, games were meaningless distractions. Yet out of their boundless love for her, they agreed to her request.

And so, she got to play her very first virtual game, and she discovered just how free that world truly was.

In the game, she didn’t have to worry about anyone noticing who she really was. In the eyes of other players, she was just an ordinary girl who preferred to keep to herself.

The game world was truly free.

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As she grew older, she came to love that world more and more. In games, she could temporarily forget her identity as a young lady of a noble house, immersing herself among the players as one of them.

But later, she began to drift away from other players, growing accustomed to solitude within the game. She even started wearing special veils made for female avatars.

The reason for this change was because she realized that as she grew older, those male players who once treated her like a little sister had begun to look at her with strange eyes.

So she withdrew further, devoting herself to honing her gaming skills. Perhaps because she was gifted, her name gradually spread among the circle of elite players.

Before long, she had inexplicably become one of the top hundred players in the game.

And, just as inexplicably, she found herself burdened with a title that sounded unbearably awkward to her ears.

【Fairy】

……

Because of the Graveyard, the faction of undead and death, the plants and trees within their expanding territories of the Main World had begun to wither under the corruption of death energy.

And in the girl’s eyes, the forest before her was one of those tainted lands, its withering branches stretching as far as she could see.

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On the dead grass ahead, a dozen wandering skeletons were prowling about as if searching for something.

Her eyes were sharp and vigilant. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and those beautiful eyes of hers were locked firmly on the skeletal soldiers approaching from afar.

Incidentally, she was currently hiding behind a large tree. The tall grass around her provided cover, keeping her out of the skeletons’ detection range for the time being.

Even so, she knew she would eventually be exposed, and fighting the Graveyard’s undead skeletons would be inevitable.

To her, these undead were weak. The skeletons before her could be dealt with in just a few minutes. The only reason she hadn’t struck yet was because she had her reasons.

After all, she had already slain countless undead like these before.

Though this was just a virtual game, fatigue still existed. Even if her body did not tire, her mind certainly did.

Yes, she had just been through dozens of battles. Each one had ended quickly, but mentally, she was already exhausted.

“Haa…”

The skeleton soldiers were closing in. She gripped the short sword in her hand tightly, her long, slender legs bending slightly into a ready stance.

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“Now!”

With a soft cry, she leapt forward. Before the skeleton could even react, her blade plunged straight into the hollow of its skull, right where the faint blue fire flickered in its eye sockets.

“Critical Hit -2637”

The blood-red text floated above the skeleton’s head, and before her eyes, its form dissolved into countless glowing particles that slowly faded into the air.

“Haa…”

She took a deep breath, just as the distant roars of other undead echoed around her. She knew that the rest had noticed her, and they were coming.

“But don’t think you can take me down that easily…”

As her words fell, the girl dashed forward, meeting the oncoming undead head-on.